what do i do

white water

Well-known member
im gonna go picking peelers in a couple of days but un sure what i do......do i find a crab and pull the last segmant of the leg of and if there is a new leg forming underneath it is a peeler but then what do i do......do i take them home and keep them in a bucket and put the crabs in fresh sea water for 20 mins a day untill there shells crack and when they do crack do i take the shell of all the legs and the lungs then put in cling film and store them in the feezer for winter

thanks lads

much appreciated
 
peelers

peelers

Yea mate ur right with the leg thing, pull the end segment off and if theres a soft leg under it then its a peeler. When u get the home keep them in the fridge in tuperware or ice cream tubs, no more than 10 per tub and cover them with damp newspaper. Everyday on me way home form work i get a half bucket of water form the river and put the crabs in for 10-15 mins then check them for popping. You will see their shells cracking away from their bodys at the very back, pull the legs off and remove all shell from the body including the lungs until u can feel no shell left. Do the same with the legs then rinse with water and place on kitchen roll to soak up the excess water. Wrap in cling film and freeze until needed.
Thats what i do anyway, other people will have other methods.
Good luck
 
word of advise mate dont use river water with all this fresh water we having it can kill them off try get some sea water asap ;)
 
Ok been out yoday bought some crab today, some of it ready to peel so followed the instructions and successfully peeled and froze some. Others not peeling in my opinion and feel quite solid. Can get some water while out tonight but then stuck really as I live away from the coast. What are my options with them? First time with crabs as you've probably guessed.
 
browse the internet and find some seaside pics print them off and stick them infront of them and possibly any utube vids with the sounds of the shore water it might settle them down and think they by the seaside :D:D:D
 
Ok been out yoday bought some crab today, some of it ready to peel so followed the instructions and successfully peeled and froze some. Others not peeling in my opinion and feel quite solid. Can get some water while out tonight but then stuck really as I live away from the coast. What are my options with them? First time with crabs as you've probably guessed.

All you need is a small stacking box fill with about 3 inches of sea water and get yourself an air pump the type you put in fish tanks from pet shops or garden centres etc with the tube and air stone put the crabs in and fit up the air pump this keeps the water oxigenated to keep the crabs alive until they start to crack/pop check at least a couple of times a day coz they soon come out there shells.
This way you can fill a drum or bucket with sea water when your down the coast oh and just some more info crabs don't feed when in peeling phase so they can quite happily stay in tank for weeks with just the odd water change.
Happy peeling
 
Tried the photos but couldn't get the sound quite right so don't think they're fooled :cool:
Cheers Ivan, will give it a try, if I peel them too early what's the consequences?
 
Peeling too early just means its hard to do and not as much meat on them best to wait till they crack at the sides and just show white between back of main shell and the swimmer/bum flap;)
 
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